William Joseph BURKE

1862-1925

BURKE, William Joseph, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born near London, England, September 25, 1862; immigrated to the United States in 1866 with his parents, who settled in Reynoldsville, Jefferson County, Pa.; attended the public schools; employed in the coal mines at the age of twelve; entered the railroad service in 1878 with residence in Pittsburgh, Pa.; was a member of the Allegheny Common Council for four years, and from 1906 to 1910 was a member of the greater city council of Pittsburgh; became extensively interested in the production of oil near Callery, Butler County, in 1904; identified with organized labor as chairman of the general committee of adjustment, Order of Railroad Conductors, of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad system; elected a member of the State senate in 1914 and served until January 1, 1918, when he resigned to become a member of the Pittsburgh City Council, serving until January 1919, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1919-March 3, 1923); did not seek renomination, but was an unsuccessful candidate for election as United States Senator in 1922; resumed activities with organized labor and served as chairman of the general committee of the Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors; also engaged in agricultural pursuits and in the production of oil; died at his summer home in Callery Junction, Butler County, near Pittsburgh November 7, 1925; interment in Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present